Benchtop Thickness Planer
 

I have been looking for some reviews for benchtop thickness planers,
Dewalt, Delta, Rigid. Something I could go out and buy locally in my
area.

I found a couple of reviews trough Google on the Dewalt 735, but
basically all they seem like they were taken off of Amazon's webite
and applied to them to their site.

Are there any good sites with Benchtop Thickness Planer reivews or
recent magazine articles?

Thanks,

Bill

Are there any good sites with Benchtop Thickness Planer reivews or
recent magazine articles?


The DW735 comes out on top every time, the delta for less money a close
second, the next dewalt a close third.

I have the DW735, have not run a whole lot, but just planed down for a
FIL 7 10' pine boards to 13/16" from rough. Didn't take much off each
pass, but they were beautiful when done. Filled a full bag of
shavings.

Alan

Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacement knives. I believe
that the Dewalts are quite pricey and don't last very long.

On 22 May 2005 16:00:12 -0700, wrote:

Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacement knives. I believe
that the Dewalts are quite pricey and don't last very long.

That was one of my concerns with the Dewalt.

Are there any third party knives that will fit the 735 and last
longer?

"Bill Davis Jr" wrote in message
...
On 22 May 2005 16:00:12 -0700, wrote:

Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacement knives. I believe
that the Dewalts are quite pricey and don't last very long.

That was one of my concerns with the Dewalt.

Are there any third party knives that will fit the 735 and last
longer?


DW does not want that to happen. Parts are a profit center.

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"Bill Davis Jr" wrote in message
...

On 22 May 2005 16:00:12 -0700, wrote:


Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacement knives. I believe
that the Dewalts are quite pricey and don't last very long.

That was one of my concerns with the Dewalt.

Are there any third party knives that will fit the 735 and last
longer?



DW does not want that to happen. Parts are a profit center.


I've seen the DeWalt knife set priced fairly reasonably. When I say
reasonable I take into consideration that

1) the blades are reversible

2) the blades have aligning pins to simplify replacement,

3) on the 735, I'm told that it is possible shift the blades laterally
on the cutter head. If you hit a piece of grit, etc. that nicks the
blade set you can shift two of the blades in opposite directions,
tighten them down and you're good to go.

Seems to me to be a distinct advantage over the other brands and models
that either don't have the indexing or don't allow for lateral shift.

That said, I'm looking for a planer and considering the 735 or the
two-speed Delta.

In article . com, wrote:
Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacement knives. I believe
that the Dewalts are quite pricey and don't last very long.

Disagree on both counts. Depends on your definition of "pricey", I guess, but
a new set can be had for about $45 at Lowe's, and less than that on eBay. As
for durability... there's enough metal there to allow them to be resharpened a
couple of times, as long as you use a light hand on the grinder.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

In article , Bill Davis Jr wrote:
On 22 May 2005 16:00:12 -0700, wrote:

Don't forget to factor in the cost of replacement knives. I believe
that the Dewalts are quite pricey and don't last very long.

That was one of my concerns with the Dewalt.

Are there any third party knives that will fit the 735 and last
longer?

Don't worry about it. With a light touch, the factory knives are good for at
least two resharpenings - when mine wear down enough to need it again, I'll
let you know if they're good for three.

--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)

Nobody ever left footprints in the sands of time by sitting on his butt.
And who wants to leave buttprints in the sands of time?

Try wood.net. and do a search. There is lots of discussion there about
planer, bench top and stationary.

Darrell


"Bill Davis Jr" wrote in message
...
I have been looking for some reviews for benchtop thickness planers,
Dewalt, Delta, Rigid. Something I could go out and buy locally in my
area.

I found a couple of reviews trough Google on the Dewalt 735, but
basically all they seem like they were taken off of Amazon's webite
and applied to them to their site.

Are there any good sites with Benchtop Thickness Planer reivews or
recent magazine articles?

Thanks,

Bill

I think you are going to get a better finish with the Dewalt because it has
3 blades instead of two like the Delta. Probably same reason blades cost
more... you get 3 instead of 2 in a package.

Bill Davis Jr wrote in
:

I have been looking for some reviews for benchtop thickness planers,
Dewalt, Delta, Rigid. Something I could go out and buy locally in my
area.


Not a review, but a personal experience. I have had good to excellent
experience with my Ridgid TP1300. A well-made machine, with an intelligent
design. When I did something really stupid, it managed to break a $3,
user-replaceable part, rather than smoke the motor.

What Doug said about DeWalt blades seems to work for these, as well,
although I stocked up several sets when the Emerson transition was
happening. The new machine is the same design as the old, and seems every
bit as strong.

The Deltas I've used don't seem as sturdy, but that's just one person's
opinion.

Patriarch

I've got the 22-580 Delta. I haven't used it a lot and don't have a
lot of planer experience but have really liked this machine. I can't
see any snipe to speak of unless I went to heavy on the cut. With the
dust collector attachment, the machine ran very clean. I picked up a
refurbished one from toolking.com for $299 (about 2 months ago). The
two speed feature is nice, as well as a zero stop mechanism that lets
you set up the depth of cut fairly easily by letting you know when the
knives are exactly at the same level as the top of the board.

I read up on the Dewalt when I bought the Delta as I didn't have a
personal preference on which one to buy. I had read a couple of
complaints that there were some plastic gears or some other type of
mechanism that broker in the Dewalt fairly easily and weren't too cheap
to replace. That was enough to sway my decision.

Good luck.